


The Reverberation of Your Noise, it's Defeaning

by Flowers_for_Ophelia



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, F/M, Kakashi/Kabuto is briefly mentioned, Lots of Snakes, M/M, Orokabu needs more fanfics, Otogakure - Freeform, Slow Build, angst with a somewhat happy ending, mentions of alcohol use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-06 01:35:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16822468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flowers_for_Ophelia/pseuds/Flowers_for_Ophelia
Summary: AU. Thirty-year-old Yakushi Kabuto finds his quiet small-town life shift upon meeting extravagant, world-famous pianist Orochimaru. Whether for the better or worse, he’s not quite sure.“Why don’t you come and work for me? Perhaps as a secretary?”“Eh? I don’t type very well, if I’m being perfectly honest.”“Well, maybe not a secretary, but a bodyguard of sorts. A right hand man. A companion.”





	The Reverberation of Your Noise, it's Defeaning

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm honestly not quite sure why I wanted to write this story, but once I started, I found I couldn't really stop. I love the complex and often dark interactions between Orochimaru and Kabuto in canon and was pretty disappointed in there not being too many for stories for it.  
> -The plot of the story is loosely based off the film "Behind the Candelabra". It's a great movie if you're interested!

Kabuto sat quietly in contemplation. Staring down at the half empty drink in his left hand, he adjusted his spectacles. The heavy bass of the music resonated throughout the dimly lit bar, drowning out all other noise. He watched in amusement the small ripples that formed in the dark brown liquor before finishing the rest. A rush of warmth circulated in the back of his throat, gradually spreading throughout his body, and he moved to adjust his glasses once more until a pair of eyes met his. 

From across the bar, a white-haired man sat with a shot glass full of what looked like tequila in his hand. Staring at Kabuto, the stranger gave him a toothy grin. Kabuto squinted his eyes to see the man’s features through the ill-lit room. He had very pointy teeth. The man quickly downed his shot and sat up, moving towards Kabuto. 

“Hey,” he whispered, close enough so Kabuto could hear over the bass. 

The silverette moved his dark eyes to better examine the man before him. He still had a grin upon his face, albeit a more subdued one, and his purple eyes gazed at Kabuto with a relaxed expression. He wore a flashy dark blue jacket and ripped jeans. 

“Hello,” Kabuto responded, inching his face closer, as well. 

“Name’s Suigetsu.”

“Kabuto.” 

Now, had it been a different night, Kabuto would have responded with more, but he had a rather bad day at work and didn’t feel very conversational at the moment. His clipped response did little to stop the other’s advances, however. He sat down on the empty stool right next to Kabuto. 

“You alone?”

“I’m inclined to say yes, but I’d rather that not give you the green light to start something.” 

The man-Suigetsu-let out a laugh. 

“Easy there, man, just wanted to get a little conversation going. This place is pretty dead if you ask me. The whole town, really. Everyone’s so quiet. Besides, you’re not really my type.”

Kabuto briefly quirked his eyebrow before shrugging his shoulders. He was not in the mood to waste energy telling some rude newcomer off. 

“It’s a small town. Judging by the way you dress, I can tell you aren’t from around here. It’s surprising you would want to visit in the first place.”

“Heh, well I gotta buddy that’s performing at a gig in the next place over, and this place had some pretty cheap hotels,” he said while stretching his back. 

“Why not spend time with them, then?”

“Hmmm, well he’s pretty much booked the rest of the week for shows. Thought I could try to find some new people to talk with, but man, is this place quiet, nothing like the city.”

“I see. That explains the clothes,” Kabuto stated, gesturing more so towards his jacket and shoes. Suigetsu grinned in response before ordering another drink. 

“Want one? It’s on me.”

The silverette’s bangs brushed against his forehead as he quietly declined. He moved his hand from where it propped up his head to readjust his glasses. 

“No thanks. Not much of a drinker.”

Suigetsu shrugged before taking a sip of his beer. “Suit yourself.” He let out a satisfied sigh as he finished.

“Town maybe a bit quiet, but the alcohol’s pretty damn good.” He slammed a hand on the wood, motioning for the bartender to get another glass. Kabuto noted the pink tinge on the man’s cheeks. He glanced up at the clock. 8:29. He would have to get home soon and rest for work in the morning. 

“If you’re not enjoying yourself here, we have a much larger urban district a few kilometers away. There’s more hotels there, as well.”

“Tryna get ridda me, huh? Heh,” he stopped to let out an airy burp, “Nah, already paid for the hotel n shit. Whatever, it’s no big d-deal, not like ‘m stayin’ for long, just till the end of the week.”

His speech was getting more notably slurred and most of his face was flushed by now. Kabuto almost felt bad for laughing at the horrible hangover he was most certainly going to experience come morning. He glanced up again at the clock. 8:37. Time to get going. Moving to stand, he felt a bit of shock at the tug he felt on the sleeve of his purple jacket. 

“H-heeey, where ya goin?”

Kabuto exhaled lightly through his nostrils and rubbed at his forehead. “Home. I have work in the morning.”

“Damn, was gonna ask if you wanted ta hang again, Kabo-Kabuto. Ha! Was gonna call you Kaboto,” he hiccuped before laying his head down on the bar counter. 

The bespectacled man let out a breath of exasperation. He really didn’t want to deal with a drunk man at the moment. In fact, Kabuto almost felt some relief that he would probably never see this man again after today. He peered at the ticking clock from the corner of his eye. 8:44. Paying for his drink, Kabuto made it halfway to the door when a familiarly irritating voice called out again. 

“Wo-woah, hang on a minute!” Suigetsu rose from the bar stool and ran dizzily towards Kabuto. He ended up bumping into a few people, causing a few angry glares from the other bar patrons. The white haired man almost made it to his new “friend” before promptly tripping over his feet and landing on the floor with an “oomph”. Kabuto crouched down to the man.

“I hope for the sake of the others on the road you don’t plan on driving back to your hotel, Suigetsu,” Kabuto almost chided. He hated dealing with drunks. It was like handling volatile toddlers. 

“C’moon, Kab, we jus became friends! L-let’s go hang or get food, or something!”

“No, I’d rather not. It’s getting a bit late.” Kabuto looked up from his crouch to see the heavy-set bartender stomp towards Suigetsu. That wasn’t good. He glanced towards the door and thought about leaving while he still had the chance. Unfortunately, Suigetsu had managed to hook onto Kabuto’s left leg, determined to continue their conversation even in his drunken state, and prevented him from leaving. The bartender made it to the two and looked at them with his meaty arms crossed. 

“Hey, your buddy didn’t pay for all his drinks, Kabuto,” he yelled above the music. A scowl etched his round face and his bushy orange eyebrows were furrowed in a frown. 

Kabuto pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a deep breath. “I’ll pay for him, Jirobo, just put his drinks on my tab.” 

He narrowed his eyes at the drunken man, who was still giggling and wrapped around Kabuto’s left leg. A brief smirk crossed Jirobo’s features and he let out a small snicker-probably at Kabuto’s misfortune of having to watch over a guy he’d just met. The hefty bartender had disliked Kabuto in all the years he’d known him. 

“Alright, just make sure to clean up after him, Kabuto.” 

The silverette forced a smile and nodded. “Will do.” Turning his attention back towards Suigetsu, he sighed before hooking an arm around the man to help him up and guide his uncoordinated feet while in his liquor-induced state. He took a passing glance at the clock before exiting the bar. 8.57.  
…  
“Alright, I need you to tell me where your hotel is, Suigetsu,” Kabuto stated as he moved the man into the passenger side of his old grey Toyota Corolla. He paused for a moment to admire the forest surrounding the place he’s lived in for most of his life. It was a clear night, and the moon-almost full-shone brightly, illuminating most of the old, run-down buildings. Cold air brushed through the night and Kabuto let out a pleasant shiver, bringing his jacket closer to him. He enjoyed cool nights like this. He entered his car and put on his seatbelt, Suigetsu drifting away into sleep next to him. 

Kabuto shaked Suigetsu’s shoulder a bit to keep him awake long enough so he could tell him which hotel he was staying at. The white-haired man quietly murmured its name, and Kabuto almost felt a bit of relief that it wasn’t too far from where he lived. He was also quite sure that the man called him “Karin” for some reason. 

Kabuto turned on the radio before pulling out of the bar’s parking lot and making his way towards the hotel. Stopping at a traffic light, he turned his head slightly to the side when he heard the beginnings of Suigetsu’s light snoring. He lowered the volume of the radio just a bit. The roads were relatively full of cars and Kabuto had to prevent himself from cursing when the car following behind him had their high beams on. He took a shortcut into an alley to lose the follower and make it to the building quicker. 

When he made it to the hotel, Kabuto had to nudge Suigetsu awake to allow to him to walk towards his hotel room. It was only on the third floor, so fortunately Kabuto didn’t have to hold him up as they rode in the elevator for long. Suigetsu slurred his hotel room number repeatedly and happily shook Kabuto’s shoulder when he saw his room. The white haired man pulled out the key from the inner pocket in his blue jacket and struggled to get the key in the lock. 

Kabuto sighed. Taking the keys out of the other man’s hand, the silverette opened the door and ushered Suigetsu to the bed. He looked around the room and found clothes scattered around an empty travel bag. Before shutting off the bedside lamp, Kabuto looked at the photo of a stern looking woman with red-hair and glasses on the shelf. A familiar white-haired man was standing next to her with a toothy grin plastered on his face.

_“A girlfriend, perhaps?”_

His thoughts were broken by the sound of Suigetsu’s loud snoring. He shook his head at the man and shut off the lights before exiting. 

He drove through the same path aligned with trees to reach his home and saw that his mother had left the lights on for him. It was probably around 9:30 by now, meaning she was most likely asleep. Kabuto krept in quietly and went into his old room. After removing his glasses, he laid motionless in bed, staring at the familiar cracks on his grey ceiling wall. He felt a light buzz in the back of his head, most likely from the alcohol. His eyes slowly closed and he drifted into another dreamless night.  
…  
Work at the clinic went slow, as per usual. Kabuto supposed a few allowances should be made. It was a small town, and only around a quarter of the population had pets, and an even smaller population had pets that needed medical care. Still, days had never been this slow before. He briefly wondered what would happen were he to go out of business. After all, he still had quite a large amount of student debt to pay off-becoming a veterinarian didn’t come easy nor cheap. 

Dark eyes trailed down to the sheets of paperwork before him and he found himself closing his eyes to the sweet sounds of piano chords resonating throughout the room. He always loved listening to music-it was usually the best way to calm his nerves (if that didn’t work, then Kabuto would usually find himself sitting at the bar and ordering a drink or two). The sweet chords transitioned into a haunting minor melody, as if telling a story through the song alone. 

His reverie was broken by the high beeping sound of his alarm, signifying that it was closing time. Cleaning up his work space, he gathered his materials and put on his jacket. It was another colder day. He blew into his gloveless hands to warm them. If he moved quickly to his car, he wold be able to warm it up earlier. Locking up the building behind him, Kabuto put his hands together and blew into them for warmth. He had forgotten his gloves today. As he walked into the parking lot, he was surprised to find a familiar white-haired man leaning against his car. 

“Hey,” he stated casually.

“Hello.” Kabuto took notice of Suigetsu’s appearance. He was dressed with the same pair of jeans from yesterday but a new jean jacket and crumpled blue t-shirt. Aside from his messy hair, one could hardly tell that he had been completely inebriated the night before.

“You look surprisingly well for someone who must be suffering from a massive hangover.”

Suigetsu grinned and winked. “Trade secret. I can give it to you over some coffee later.”

“No thanks, I don’t drink caffeine that often.”

“Pff, sounds lame.”

“Almost as lame as the man who went and stumbled across a bar until falling flat on his face yesterday night.”

Suigetsu’s eyebrows lowered in a sheepish expression. He used one hand to rub the back of his neck in a guilty manner. “Yeah, that’s what I wanted to come talk to you about. I wanted to say sorry and thanks for... you know, for yesterday.

Kabuto adjusted the strap on his shoulder bag and looked back towards the man who was still leaned against his car.

“Apology accepted. And you’re welcome.”

The bespectacled man tried to motion for Suigetsu to move out of the way so he could start driving home, but the man refused to budge. Kabuto looked back up at the man and quirked an eyebrow at him questioningly. He really wanted to start heading home.

“Need something else?”

“Look, I uh, I wanted to invite you to go to my buddy’s show with me tomorrow, as a way of saying thanks. There’ll be food and everything and he’s a really good performer. Tickets are sold out everywhere unless you get them for super expensive, but I managed to convince the him to let me get one for you.”

“I have work tomorrow, so I’d rather not go last minute in case something happens and I’m needed there.”

“Y’know, Kab,” Kabuto raised an eyebrow at the nickname, “they say 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy'.” 

“Yes, I’ve heard of that, but they also say 'he who does not work, neither shall he eat'. I’m sure you can find someone else to accompany you to your friend’s performance, Suigetsu.”

“Yeah, but I really want to thank you for yesterday-”

“You already have, there’s no need to concern yourself over it any longer.”

“-But this performance will really be amazing- Oro plays amazing piano. The best in all of the country.”

Kabuto paused a brief moment. It was a piano performance? He was almost certain Suigetsu wanted to drag him along to some sort of a rock concert or something similar. He always did love hearing the piano, especially when it’s performed live. Business has been slow the past couple of day and even weeks-if the trend continues, tomorrow might just be another slow day. Kabuto adjusted his glasses. Maybe he will go. 

“Look, just say you’ll think about it, ok? I’ll drive by your house tomorrow and see if you’ll go or not. I swear I’ll leave if you decide not to, just know I didn’t not try paying you back for yesterday.”

Kabuto’s remained silent for a bit and a cool breeze of air brushed past. The sky seemed to have darkened from earlier and the parking lot was now completely empty save for him and the man leaning against his car door. 

“Alright. I’ll think about it.”

“Great!”  
…  
Kabuto dug into his plate of warm fish and steamed rice. His eyes looked up at his mother-Nonou- when he heard her address him. The woman had a soft voice, yet demanding at times. She wasn’t his biological mother, of course. The only thing they had in common were the spectacles on their face. She was the foster mother to him and his older brother Urushi. 

“How was work today?”

“Alright. It was slow again.”

“I’m sure you’ll get more work when winter comes around.”

Kabuto shrugged his shoulders as he continued eating. “Maybe.”

“Urushi is coming home for a visit tomorrow morning. Maybe us three could watch a movie or something together? We haven’t done that in awhile.”

“Sure.” 

Kabuto stared down at his empty plate and pondered Suigetsu’s invitation to see his friend’s show from earlier. The more he thought about it, the more inclined he became to see the performance. He loved the piano. Perhaps he would take up the offer, he wanted a break anyway. Not a break from the “strenuous” work he was accomplishing at the clinic, but simply a break from the continuous routine schedule he’s found himself locked in. 

“By the way…”

“Hm?”

“I’m going to see a performance with...a friend… tomorrow afternoon.”

“Oh? Which friend? Kakashi?”

Kabuto’s eyes quickly narrowed at the name and his face formed a scowl. Kakashi was more of his boyfriend-ex-boyfriend now- at the time when the two of them were close enough to be considered “friends”. They had a fallout and Kakashi ended up moving far away-where, Kabuto had no idea nor did he care. He hasn’t heard from him since. 

He never really revealed to his mother that they were dating, though he had a hunch that she knew. She grew up in a more religious household and was always on the more conservative side. She was even part of a convent before leaving to pursue the medical field. 

“No, not Kakashi. Someone you haven’t met, yet. He’s from the city.”

“I see. What performance is it?”

“His friend is a pianist and is performing in the next town over.”

“Oh, is his friend that world-famous pianist I’ve heard everyone talking about?”

“I’m not really sure. How did you know about it?”

“Oh, I heard all the women in the grocery store talking this morning. Apparently he’s very good, but tickets sold out a few weeks ago. You’re very lucky to experience something so grand, Kabuto.”

“I suppose.”

Kabuto thanked his mother for the meal and rose slowly from his chair. Gathering his dirty dishes, he made his way to the sink and watched the blowing trees from outside the window as he washed. He found himself yawning in exhaustion despite it only being 7:00. Drying his hands, he removed the elastic band keeping his hair up. 

“I think I’m going to go to sleep early, today, Mother.”

“Alright, Kabuto. Sleep well.”

He nodded to her before making his way upstairs to get ready for bed. That night as he looked up at the cracks in his grey ceiling before drifting away into slumber, he dreamt of the city-life and escaping this routinely small town forever.

**Author's Note:**

> My posting schedule may be a little inconsistent, so sorry for that (school's getting pretty hectic). I'm not gonna lie, I'll most likely update within 1-3 months. Thank you for taking the time to read this story-kudos/comments are much appreciated!


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